The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall

I saw this production recently on PBS and was absolutely awestruck! I RAN to my computer and immediately ordered the Blu-ray on Amazon. Well, if I'm being honest, I actually turned slightly to my right and opened my laptop...THEN I ordered the Blu-ray! I can't say I've had a lot of experience with the Phantom of the Opera musical. I'm old enough to remember when the show first opened in the 80's. So, I also remember seeing Michael Crawford's performance of "Music of the Night" from highlights and award show appearances. Even as a teenager (showing my age yet?) I was intrigued and would like to have seen the show. However, I certainly didn't have the means to do so back then. Unfortunately, I must admit my first experience finally watching the production was from the Joel Schumacher movie. It's a handsome production. I thought Emma Rossum was good and most of the cast decent. But something was just "off" about the whole thing...besides Gerard Butler's key! Okay, I confess Butler wasn't as bad as I thought he would be. But that's the problem. Whoever plays the Phantom shouldn't be "better" than expected. He should be pretty darn awesome, right? Is it just me? So, back to a couple of weeks ago now, I realized at the last moment PBS was re-playing the 25th Anniversary performance of Phantom of the Opera. I had nothing better to do that night and I was ready to watch it. Frankly, some nights I might not be in the mood for a 3 hour plus musical. Thank goodness I was in the mood that Sunday night. This is impressively filmed at London's Royal Albert Hall. It's a eye popping spectacle and all the performances are fantastic. I would say "perfect" but I'm not some highfalutin expert on the subject of musicals. I do know what I like, however. And I love everything about this production. But I want to gush about the two leads, in particular. I immediately developed a crush on Sierra Boggess. She's beautiful, an incredible singer and a fine actress. The way she looks adoringly at our title character makes one understand why the Phantom falls hard for her. There's a moment where her Christine is starring in a role on stage, playing with an apple. I don't know quite how to put this but...she's seductive, yet innocent at the same time. It's kinda hot is what I'm saying. And, yes, her performance of "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" is a showstopper! To really make this work, you have to have the right actor as the Phantom. Ramin Karimloo is just awesome. The first thing you notice is the voice. Because we're not really introduced to him until after we hear him sing. I've heard him called a "limitless tenor" and I guess that's a fact. Man, can that guy sing! I supposed one could make a case that the Phantom's voice should be higher and creepier, but a case can also be made that he should be limitless. The Phantom is, after all, a musical genius who teaches Christine how to perfect her singing voice. Between Karimloo's vocal range and his inherent good looks, you can see his Phantom being a hugely successful entertainer if not for his facial deformities. This merely adds to his tragedy. The actor's halfway hidden handsomeness also allows us to buy into Christine's attraction to the Phantom. Sure, she's drawn to his hypnotic music, but it also helps us if we can actually imagine her being with the man behind the mask. But, like Boggess, Karimloo brings more to his role than charisma and an out-of-this-world voice. I was won over by him pretty early on. I thought he really nailed the famous "Music of the Night" scene in his lair. He also adds a vulnerability I didn't quite expect early on. While I was pleasantly impressed by him in those early scenes, it wasn't until his appearance in the "All I Ask of You" scene that I fully realized Karimloo's greatness in this role. The Phantom has just witnessed his beloved Christine with her childhood friend Raoul declaring their love for each other. Our Phantom is absolutely crushed by this. He's tearful, shaky, muttering to himself. He even tries in vain to cover his ears, still hearing the two lovers' voices singing...before exploding with vengeance. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's because there's something about the actor's take on the title character that I really identify and sympathize with. He totally breaks my heart at that moment. It's a special performance, along with Boggess, that makes the finale all the more devastating. The video and audio of the Blu-ray is incredible. The production was shot in HD so it's truly sharp and spectacular. Also the encores at the end in which we see former Phantoms singing together is a real treat. We also get a nice reunion with the original stars Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman. But all that is icing on the cake. This is a truly wonderful experience thanks to the gorgeous production, Andrew Lloyd Webber's creative team, and especially the moving performances of Boggess and Karimloo.

Two words to describe this production: holy crap! I've been a Phantom fan (or is it phan?) ever since I saw the show in Los Angeles with Michael Crawford in 1990. Since that performance, I have seen it several more times, but I have yet to see one that was able to match it in quality and emotion. Well my friends, the search is over. In sports, there is an old saying that athletes should leave it all out on the field. This performance is the theatrical equivalent of leaving it all out on the field. Let me start off with the casting. To quote the Phantom, it is, in a word, ideal. Ramin Karimloo is clearly one of the stage stars of this decade and is an inspired choice to play the Phantom. His presence on stage might have been enough, but his booming, brooding voice really makes the character come alive. There is an apocryphal story that when Karimloo first saw a performance of Phantom as a teenager, he bet his friends that one day he would play the Phantom. Not only did that come true, but it's even all the more amazing considering he has never had any formal vocal training. Sierra Boggess is tremendous as Christine. You can seriously feel her anguish oozing off the screen. Beautiful voice, and every word comes through nicely. Raoul is always a troublesome character to cast. For some reason, the actors who typically play him come off as kind of wussy and stiff. But not here. The producers chose Hadley Fraser, a West End veteran, but one who has never played Raoul. His Raoul is the first one to actually have a spine and come off as forceful and the protector that Christine seeks. In the final scene, Fraser looks ready to throw down with the Phantom. And he also has a great voice to boot. I will say this, though: he did wear a bit too much eye make-up for my taste. =D Another thing that makes this production work so well is that all of the performers really give their all. You can feel and see the emotions of the characters so much more clearly than in any normal stage production thanks to the multiple camera angles used. By the end of the show, you feel just as breathless as the actors. You can really see them working on stage - you can see the sweat running down their faces from the hot stage lights and the makeup starting to run a bit. That's how you know it's live. Some of the camera work could have been better, but overall they did a good job capturing a live performance with a slightly modified set to accommodate the limitations at Royal Albert Hall. The lighting could also have been improved slightly, but I don't feel it really detracted from the overall show. A cool bonus at the end of the performance is the appearance of the original London cast, including Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford. Brightman sang, but Crawford curiously did not. Then, four previous Phantoms appeared on stage - Anthony Warlow, John Owen Jones, Colm Wilkinson, and Peter Joback - and sang a duet with Brightman and then alternated on "Music of the Night." Really amazing stuff, although I think it was wrong to leave out Howard McGillin from that group, since he played the Phantom more than anyone in history. All in all, this video is ten times better than the horrendous movie version that came out all those years ago with Gerard Butler.

Si nunca has visto ¨El Fantasma de la Ópera¨, entonces te recomiendo este vídeo. No sólo fue un espectáculo maravilloso, sino también una gran y especial celebración. La celebración final es tan fascinante como el espectáculo. ¡No te lo pierdas! Lamentablemente no tiene subtítulos en español, está en inglés.

CONSEGNA AMAZON DIRETTA DA PAURA. CONSEGNA GARANTITA IL 9 GENNAIO E RECAPITATA IL 3 GENNAIO. AVEVO ORIDNATO LO STESSO ARTICOLO IL 5 DICEMBRE DA UN FORNITORE TEDESCO MA MAI ARRIVATO. CERCHERO DI ORDINARE SEMPRE DA AMAZON.

The best version of Phantom. Top production and casting. Extra apperance and singing of original cast stars at end makes this recording unique.

Es un espectáculo hermoso, lo recomiendo mucho. Lo disfruto mucho..Llegó en excelente condición.

Fantastico! Tutti dovrebbero vederlo almeno una volta nella vita